We call it 'The Entity'
by XanderNA
Summary: Set in an alternate reality where the survivors were put into the trials in the early 1980s. The Entity has been defeated and the survivors have now escaped its grasp and have gone back getting used to normal life. However, after a worrying event, they must band together again to withstand this new threat which is known as 'The Upside Down' with the help of some familiar faces...
1. The Final Entry

**Hello all,**

**Before this story begins, I would like to say some things first. Firstly, I do not own Dead by Daylight or any of its characters. Secondly, I do not own the cover image to the story. The artist who made the cover image is the great artist: DeVillefort. You can find their Twitter here: /dvillefort?lang=en**

** Be sure to check out the rest of their work as well cause they're a really good artist if you're looking for Dead by Daylight art. **

**Aside from that, all I have to say is that this fanfic doesn't contain any of the characters from Stranger Things and is more focused around the characters of Dead by Daylight. There are a few nods to the TV show however so don't fret. I'm also sorry if I don't perceive the characters the way you would have wanted them to be but I'm doing what I think works the best in my mind so I'm sorry if we disagree on that.**

**Be aware, this story contains mild swearing and violence as well and some spooky stuff.**

**I hope you enjoy,**

**\- XanderNA**

* * *

_June 2nd 1984_

_So, the beginning of Summer is almost here!_

_Although it already feels like it's been Summer forever. It's nice here in Boulder City though. I wasn't sure about it at first but the rest of the gang all made an agreement to live relatively close to each other so here I am. I couldn't really go back and live with my parents. Things never really worked out between us. _

_We're having a big meetup soon however so I'm looking forward to being able to talk to others about what happened 'before' without all the government secrecy crap. It's going to be nice to see some others as well aside from the others who I usually see at college and such. I hear that Nea and Kate will be visiting alongside Ace so it'll be nice to see them again. I haven't heard from Jeff, Jake and Adam in forever though so I don't know what's happened to them. I heard that Adam quit his job at being a teacher but that's all of the gossip around them. Jane is doing a show just east of Salt Lake City but she said she couldn't make the party - shame. _

_The party's being hosted by Meg and Dwight so I think Meg'll have a lid on things - can't say the same with Dwight though. _

_It sure is gonna be good to just feel like we're just some average people having an average party instead of a gang of mentally affected people all slumbering about and being frightened by the thought of what was. It's gonna be a fun time, definitely. Hell, I might even get drunk for the first time in a while. _

_Anyway, that's about all I have time for since I have a morning class in five. I'll probs write some more here after the party. Peace.  
\- FM_

**\- That was the latest entry found in Feng Min's diary that was found strewn on the forest floor the night she went missing on the 2nd of June, 1984.**


	2. Youngsters

"Soda or Beer?"  
Dwight Fairfield's voice spoke to his friend in a questioning tone whilst his eyes were focused on the drinks aisles beside him. His friend turns to him with a bit of a playful smirk across her face.

"Seriously Dwight?" his friend says and turns to him, a large bag of crisps cradled in her arms.

"Yes Meg, I'm serious. Is-is the answer obvious?"

"It's just, you overthink a lot of these things Dwight. You're asking me, _me_ what drinks we should get for the party?"

"Well, we are jointly hosting this party. We have to help each other with these decisions" Dwight explains and Meg twists her cap a little to the side whilst casually tossing the bag of chips into the trolley.

"In that case, why not just get both?" She suggests, shoving her hands in her pockets and Dwight comes to a stop. That thought hadn't occurred to him.

"Well...I mean...that could possibly-"

"You're afraid of getting the beer? Is that it?" Meg asks and Dwight gives a slight nervous chuckle.

"As if" he says, beginning to push the trolley down towards the alcohol section. However, a pair of hands reach out and bring the trolley and Dwight to a halt; Meg. She cocks her head slightly and raises her eyebrows slightly at this remark. Dwight then just awkwardly looks away, sighing to himself.

"Okay yeah I'm a bit unsure" he confesses, scratching the back of his head. Meg smiles to herself, spinning round to begin to walk down the aisle in triumph.

"C'mon Meg! You know I hardly drink and plus, when my parents check my card again, I don't want that showing up. I just feel that everyone else would be wanting to drink something like-"

Dwight's speech is cut off from a medium-sized cardboard box is placed into the shopping cart, catching him off guard slightly. Meg taps the top of the box twice with her left hand, almost as a way of saying 'it's yours'. Dwight looks up to Meg and this time, she has a more sincere look of kindness on her face as she gives an understanding smile.

"It's cool Dwight - peer pressure - I get it. I can get the beers, there's a pack of twenty in that there box so I'm sure they'll be enough for everyone and then some. Plus, I understand if you haven't hosted any parties before, I wouldn't have expected you to be good at it" she says and then backs up to walk beside Dwight. He gives a slight smile at this.

"Huh...wow. Wait...is that a compliment or…?"

"Come on, let's pay" Meg cuts him short which provokes a chuckle from Dwight.

They finish picking their items before paying for the supplies and bringing it into the car park to meet Dwight's car. It's a grey Ford Galaxie 500 which a couple of dirt marks lining the fenders. It's not a particularly interesting car to look at but it gets the job done. Dwight barely drives it though, even though his parents bought it for him as a birthday present. They did, however, need it for hauling all the party supplies they needed for tonight so this time was a special occasion.

They pack all the shopping in the boot and then they both collectively pull Meg's pedal bike out of the back seats, taking a bit of effort in doing so. Eventually, however, it's pulled free and Meg sets it down firm across the scratchy gravel. Dwight adjusts his blue t-shirt, giving him some air and then nods to Meg whilst rotating around to the driver's door.  
"So you're going where exactly?" Dwight asks, opening the door before leaning up against it. Meg mounts her bike, getting a feel for the rubber handles as she does so.

"I'm visiting David with his new job with Claudette now. Apparently, he's working in an ice cream shop; I have to see him" Meg says in a sort of fake eagerness. Dwight laughs at this, the thought of the toughest person he knows dishing up ice cream to the young being an almost crystal clear image in his mind.

"Damn, I'm jealous now...just remember - be at mine for 5 pm okay? Party's starting at six so I need you to help me prepare" Dwight informs her.

"Sure thing dad" Meg jokes which provokes a light chuckle from her friend before he enters his car, turning the key in the ignition.

Dwight's car almost splutters to a start, smoke seeping from the exhaust and the engine making a substantial whirring noise. But he drives slowly and surely out of the car park, giving a small wave to Meg on his way out. Meg waves back before pushing herself off the ground and pedal.

* * *

Meg didn't mind cycling around Boulder.

Sure, it was hot, but it felt rewarding to be using physical power to transport. That's what kept Meg all these years. That rush of speed, the aching of legs or the burning of her lungs after a heavy race. She had gotten involved in some other sports of late besides running: baseball and boxing were her two main sports but she did always seem interested in playing hockey sometimes.

As she cycled, she took in the sight of the roads and the early morning passerby. For 10 am, she was actually surprised by the number of people out. She knew that David's job opened at nine in the morning but she had to help Dwight out first with the shopping. She just needed to get Claudette now and then they could be off.

They agreed they were going to meet at a designated corner in between Meg's favorite resultant and Claudette's favorite library. They called it 'girls corner' for obvious reasons. Feng would sometimes be seen here as well if they ever arranged to meet up.

Turning at a junction, however, would reveal that only Claudette would be waiting there, book in hand and backpack on her back.

Claudette Morel was a girl around the same early age of nineteen as Meg Thomas yet the two girls seemed quite different.

Claudette was dressed sensibly in brown slacks, an inner green shirt and a white denim jacket on the outside. She also wore a green neck scarf that fit neatly around her jacket. Her hair was its usual style of being brown and puffy, set into a ponytail at the back. Her usual slim white glasses were also apparent with the rest of her attire.

"What are you reading there?" Meg makes an entrance, slowing her bike slightly. Claudette turns to her, smiles knowingly and then closes the book, flashing the cover to the athlete. The title reads 'Plantlife: A biological study' with the cover being a simple green patch alongside some cartoon roots and leaves.

"Nothing you'd find interesting. You ready?" Claudette says, preemptively motioning to the building behind.  
It was a colorful building, painted with flairs of blue and red along with a basic white with the text of 'Scoops Ahoy' pasted as the title of the establishment. The two look to each other before entering the place and taking in the surrounds around them.

The tables are set up in booths with red leather seats accompanying them. The walls are painted in an image of the ocean and pirates alike; the target audience seemed to be kids. But then again, there were still quite a few adults, some with children, some with friends and even some by themselves. Customers had bowls and containers of ice cream which had a varied amount of colour sprinkled atop of them.

It was definitely a lively place but the best part behind it was the man currently behind the counter.

The man bore broad shoulders with short and somewhat scruffy hair atop his head with buzz cut hair lining the sides of his head. He was currently donning a sailors uniform with a navy blue short sleeved top alongside a red neck scarf which was somewhat crumpled up. There were streaks of white lining on the uniform to add the ridicolous factor of how it looked but the man also wore a name badge: David.

He has a somewhat, fed up look on his face but then Meg and Claudette step up to the counter and his eyes wander over to them. His face, instead of changing to happiness upon seeing familiar faces, switches to a much more disgruntled look of annoyance and just exhaustion.

"You have got to be kidding" David's voice rang low yet noticeable and the two girls can't help but laugh at his remark and at his outfit.

David was known as one of the toughest of the group way back when they all met up, so seeing him in this establishment was a sight for sore eyes.

"Hey David" Meg greets, almost teasingly. David squeezes his eyes together with a spare hand.

"Good to see you two again though, wish we could of met _elsewhere _though" he says whilst giving his usual nod to Claudette as she waves back, still laughing to herself.

Meg puts one hand on the counter, leaning up against it and flashing her best smile possible.

"So, can you serve me and my friend here two vanilla ice creams here?" Meg says, preemptively unpacking her wallet. She gets a concerned glance from Claudette about this but Meg insists in paying for the two of them anyway, they could use the cold refreshment.

"Well, you want anything with them? Flake or anything-"

"Oh - no. Serve us like you would any other customer. Give us the 'Scoops Ahoy' welcome" Meg says, her voice dripping with evil intent. David hesitates, chuckles to himself for a moment before locking eyes with Meg for a couple of seconds. His smile drops.

"You're joking right?" he asks lightly.

"I'm not" Meg responds.

"No - like - I know you do this sometimes"

"I'm not joking"

Silence.

"You want me to give you-"

"I want you to give me the 'Scoops Ahoy' welcome"

More silence.

"Meg" David almost begs.

"I'll throw in a tip" she tempts.

Eventually, David rolls his eyes, sighs and then grabs a nearby sailors hat and places it sloppily upon his head, already prompting a small laugh from Claudette. He gives a harmless glare to Meg before his lips curve upwards into a smile that's way too cheerful for David to be wearing.

"Well ahoy there ladies! Let-"

Clauddete bursts out laughing. It's such a howl of glee that even some people in the booths turn to view what made the noise. David views this but just carries on speaking whilst Meg is trying her absolute best not to laugh and keep her order 'serious'.

"Let me be the first to welcome you aboard to Scoops Ahoy! So what can I get you too to eat before you travel out into the sea of the unknown" David says, his energy still holding up. Meg's smile almost falters.

"Well 'Captain'-"

Claudette let's out another howl in the middle of Meg's request and now Meg can't keep it in any more as here serious demeanour fades and she leans up against the counter, laughing. Eventually, David breaks too and soon, the three are just laughing together like they're young again, like they weren't once hunted by some unspeakable force.

Meg straightens.

It's just so nice to be normal again. To laugh. To act like kids.

"Anyway, two vanilla right?" David says, preemptively scooping the ice cream up.

The two young ladies confirm.

After a couple of moments, David hands each of them a cone and then proceeds to take off the pitiful sailors hat.

"You're coming to the party right?" Claudette asks, wiping her mouth a little. David nods and smiles.

"Of course. I'd do anything to get off this job" he says, grinning but then glancing around nervously, presumably to check if his manager heard that. Meg smiles at this.

"Nice. _Nice! _Damn it's going to be so good to see everyone again" Meg comments.

David nods.

"I even hear that Ace and all that is coming down as well, that true?" David asks and gets an approving nod from Meg.

"I'm sure everyone will be there, don't worry" Meg says, biting down on her ice cream and getting cold teeth.

After the brief catchup, they part on their separate ways, each of them prepping for the night that was to come.


	3. Long time no see

"Room for one more?"

Nea Karlson's voice would call through to the driver of a bright red Cadillac Eldorado, somewhat sarcastically. She had her black hair cropped short and she wore it down; it was too hot to have her beanie. She wore a green polo shirt along with some black skinny jeans which had been ever so slightly torn at the knees. She wore green canvas shoes with white laces, her left one starting to become loose. She carried her bag over her shoulder - it wasn't much: a change of clothes, toiletries and her wallet was all she really needed.

The driver of the Cadillac Eldorado would turn to her, sliding down his sunglasses to get a good look at her.

"Nea. Still as gorgeous as always" the man said with a tease, opening the passenger door for her. She smirked.

"And you're as charming as always Ace. I really _do _wonder how you don't have a lady friend yet" Nea would say, sarcastically of course. He would just grin again and motioned to the passenger seat beside him and whilst Nea did question this gesture, she sat beside him anyway as he turned the keys to the ignition. The car jump started and then purred to life, a steel cat of an engine. Nea slung her seatbelt over her whilst turning to Ace.

"I find it hard to believe you got this car legitimately. Did you?" Nea asks as the driver pulled out from his spot. Ace shrugs.

"Of course. Managed to get a rich guy angry enough to bet his car at me. Easy win, you could see his cards in his glasses since he was sitting in the light" Ace explains whilst pulling out of the parking spot he was in when waiting for Nea.

She had flown over from her parents' house in Sweden - they bought her the plane ticket. When Nea came back from the fog, her parents were beyond relieved since they were used to her disappearing but it had gone on for too long. There were tears but also this strange tension between her parents. Either way, they still loved her when she came back.

The duo was now on their way to pick up another friend but of course, the drive to the pickup was a bit lengthy.

"I heard about...you and Jake" Ace says, turning a corner. Nea hesitates a bit at this, her mind returning to another place.

They _were_ something before. Now they're just friends. In reality though, they haven't seen each other for about a year.

"How do you think he is?" Nea asks, turning to Ace. He shrugs.

"Well...I just hope the guy's alive. I haven't heard anything from him since we all separated" he responds and the Swede smiles knowingly.

"Oh, he's alive all right" she says, leaning back into her chair. Ace smirks at this.

"Oh? You've been staying in contact?" he comments with a hint of mischief. Nea gives him a dirty side-eye.

"Any of the girls stayed in contact with you?" Nea fires in return, smirking back. Ace's smile wavering a bit in the silence that followed.

"Damn it's really hot here huh?" Ace attempts to steer both the car and the conversation in different directions. Nea just laughs at this but then he too joins in.

"Really though, it's been good to see you again, honestly being able to finally talk to people about before is so relieving. No more secrecy stuff. Just feels good" Nea let's out, leaning back in the leather seat. Ace nods to this.

"I've always been tempted on just writing something about it. _Something. _Just the fact the suits tell us to shut up and stay quiet about it pisses me off a bit. We have to go through that and then we just have to return to normal life" Ace says and Nea turns to his unexpected speech. She had always really expected Ace to be easygoing with a dash of rebellion but this was something else.

"Well, let's keep quiet about it. You've got yourself a fancy car, I got myself a job. No one is dead because of it. We all got out of it so no need to spill the beans yet" Nea explains and Ace chuckles lightly at this.

"'Spill the beans'? How very American of you Nea" he chimed to the young Swedish woman.

They continue driving in silence, with Ace's eyes on the road and Nea's on the environment around her. As they trickled more and more into Boulder City, the grassy lands were replaced with sandy dunes with cacti and intricate plants Nea had never seen before. The sun began to burn down brighter upon them and Nea was glad that her parents had insisted on packing suncream for her.

"Here she is" Ace's speech breaks Nea's train of thought and she turns to him before watching as he pulled to the side of the road. It looks as if they had stopped in the middle of virtually nowhere since the only structure was a small bus stop with little to no cover from the sun. There was however what seemed to be a motel behind it so it wasn't the most isolated place. Still though, it didn't exactly feel safe.

There was a sight though that made Nea instantly more comfortable however.

"Kate!" Nea speaks to a figure standing underneath what shade the bus stop had who heard the call. It stood up, smiling as it walked to Nea's side of the car.

"Haven't seen you guys in a while" Kate says, running her hand through her hair. Her shoulder-length hair was still it's usual colour which was a soft ginger. Her fashion has definitely changed from when Nea had last saw her into something a little more colourful.

She was wearing a short sleeved and loose button up shirt which had a vibrant blue as its base colour with an assortment of orange triangles scrambled randomly across the shirt which was tucked into her trousers. She wore jeans that came above her waist with the end of the legs rolled up ever so slightly, revealing her white socks and blue sneakers.

"Looking good sweetheart, hop in" Ace compliments as Kate hugs Nea from her seated position.

"Thanks Ace, I could say the same about your car" she fires back whilst slotting her luggage into the boot of the car.

As she gets into the middle back seat, Ace explains the same tale he told to Nea of how he got the car and at the end, she nods to it.

Kate and Nea catch up however, with Kate asking her about how Nea was with her parents and Nea asking whether or not her whole 'singer' career had worked. She shrugs a bit at this question.

"I've gotten by, I don't really like to talk about it but I haven't seen you in forever so, why not?" she says but Nea shakes her head slightly.

"It's fine if you don't want to, I just heard everything was going okay before you got taken so I was just curious" Nea explains but now Kate is the one to shake her head.

"It's going better than fine, it's going great. It just doesn't feel the same as before" Kate explains and Nea raising an eyebrow prompts more from Kate.

"My songs are relatively the same but I get called different names. Not a lot are bad but it's just a certain few"

"Your fans have been calling you names? Like what?"

"Well, there's 'Ghost girl'-"

From the front, Ace snorts at this which gets an annoyed look from Nea but the Swede is reassured when she too gives a light chuckle.

"Yeah, it's pretty stupid some of the names but I don't know, just these names which related to what happened to all of us before. It just feels strange. They all pass it around like a joke but they don't know what is was like. Some may have experienced something similar but...not the same as back then" she finishes and Nea gives a slow yet understanding nod to this and in his mind, Ace solemnly agrees with this as well.

Nea had always expected Kate to be the stereotype of a 'dumb blonde'. She was young, silly and wild and when she first turned up within the fog that day, Nea had expected her to be next to useless. But just like Dwight had, Kate proved her wrong.

Sure, it may of taken her a while to get the hang of repairing the machinery that they had worked on and sure, it was frustrating how she didn't understand for the first couple of days that talking should be kept to a minimum but it was scary how she was often the one to go back for others. It was scary since it didn't matter if you left others. As that journal that they had found there had written in its pages, 'death was not an escape'. The worst it would do would cause a dispute to be brought up at the campfire the next time these two saw each other.

Leaning back into her chair though, Nea would conclude that whatever it was that trapped them in that place had changed them, for better or for worse.

Ace cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"We still have around an hour left till we get there, so I suggest you ladies get some rest for now" Ace explains and Kate acknowledges this and Nea expects her to carry on talking but instead she just leans up against the window, watching the world go by.

Nea decides that maybe some sleep would be advisable since she hardly got any on the plane over and decides to retrieve her beanie from her pack and slide it over her eyes, listening to the engine as it hummed a song of speed along the road.

She smiled to herself.

_God it was good to be back._


	4. Taken

_**Hello.**_

_**I apologise for taking so long to put chapters out. I've had a lot of school work to do as well of out of school work. I'm going to try and be more consistent in the future but for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

_**Many thanks.**_

* * *

_Thank god the day was over._

Feng Min finally walked out of a long engineering lesson, sighing out of relief. She must of wrote around four pages of notes, maybe more - still - it was so much work. Her writing hand was sore, a fair amount of ink lining her pinkie; she had smudged a lot of her work.

She stood and brushed off her black skinny jeans whilst also adjusting the collar of her turquoise shirt, making sure she looked somewhat presentable.

She began to walk through the corridors, passing strangers, friends and a handful of rivals as well. It was strange: school. She had never expected to be back here after everything before. It was such an alien idea, learning about normal everyday things and looking back on things now, she didn't know what classified as useful education anymore.

She had learnt many things in the fog, many practical things: how to tend to a wound, how to repair certain machinery, how to preserve stamina. All of these things helped her survive but there was also the more casual things she learnt: plantlife, wildlife, how to cook food, how to live off the wild.

She had learnt a lot from friends as well: how to defend yourself, how to make yourself smaller, how to use things more effectively.

She had all learnt this for one reason however; to stay alive.

Casually, Feng walked to the corners towards the stretch of the corridor, rounded it and then exited through one of the campus doors. The sun hit her alongside the warm air which instantly caused her body coolness to be removed and instead be replaced with a light warmth; she had eventually gotten used to the heat over her time here.

She closed her eyes for a moment to take in the fresh air and the heat...and then was rudely brought back to reality as she bumped into something. She stumbled to the side and met eyes with a slightly taller individual with unkempt blonde hair and a negative glare in his eyes.

Feng had just bumped into a young man named Fabian Clark, a bully and a general nuisance for the school in general. He was a jock but he didn't take nicely to people in general...and Feng had just bumped into him.

He turned menacingly and gave Feng dagger eyes from his heightened position.

"Feng Ming, should've known you'd be the one who wouldn't be looking where they were going" he snarled. Feng shook her head apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I just - lost myself for a bit" she gets out.

"Oh yeah?" Fabian chimes and then hastily reaches for Feng with both hands. He grasps around her collar and she realises too late to react and is lifted from the floor and put up against the warm brick wall of the school. His brow was furrowed and his teeth were formed in a snarl.

"Maybe you should stop daydreaming and maybe look where you're walking! I just got this jacket you ugl-"

"Back off Fabian"

A voice from behind the two would sound, sounding firm and dismissive of the one holding Feng up. The pair would collectively turn to see a young woman, ginger hair, blue t-shirt along with a pair of white shorts glaring at Fabian.

It was Meg.

Fabian lowered Feng at the sight of this, smiling to himself, almost incredulous.

"Meg Thomas. What a surprise. Back off, this is between me and the mutt unless you want to lose your teeth alright?" he threatened. Meg scoffed, now folding her arms.

"You're threatening time beat me up? Remember what happened two weeks back Fabian? I don't think you have the ground to talk down to me like that" Meg fired back, causing Fabian to grip Feng's collar a little tighter.

Two weeks back, Fabian had his nose broken by Meg after he had harassed over her looks. Happened right in the corridors so it was embarrassing for the supposed 'King of the School' Fabian. He sets Feng down now, allowing her to walk once again as he storms towards Meg with broad shoulders. Feng's heart immediately lurched, worrying for Meg.

Yet Meg didn't move an inch and instead increased the anger expressed on her face by tenfold.

The two jocks were now eye to eye, a real stare off as Fabian practically butted heads with Meg.

"Listen, bitch! I don't think you have that right to talk to me like that! Do you even know what my father-"

Meg wound her head back and then brought it forwards furiously into Fabian's, effectively head butting him.

Feng heard the impact from where she was standing and gasped to herself at the sudden physical contact between the two. Fabian stumbled back at the impact, crying out and tripping over his own feet as his back slammed into the floor underneath him.

Meg staggered slightly though, the impact still hurting her forehead temporarily as she made her way to Feng. Or more accurately, teetered her way over.

Feng immediately took Meg in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Meg asked calmly, smiling to Feng's current state. Feng blinked twice.

"Am I okay?! You just - you just-"

"I know" Meg chimed back to Feng's somewhat panicked response. She hesitated for a moment before Feng simply began to laugh whilst also hugging her jock friend. Meg returned the embrace and began to laugh as well, enjoying the slight moment of 'that just happened' between them.

The two girls were very close friends, they had been through so much together, seen so much, it was hard for them to think of anything negative about each other.

"You...you really think…" a gritty and low voice came from behind them again. The two girls turned and met the sight of Fabian holding his head and slowly rising from his position. But he had rage in his eyes, the kind that wouldn't give them a second chance.

A kind the two girls had experiences before in another place.

"Let's go!" Feng was - surprisingly - the first to bolt out of them and clutched around Meg's hand as she ran. The jock was caught off guard by this, instinctively thinking she was going to have to stick around and fight. But she came across the realisation that this was the best choice for her and Feng.

Because if there's one thing they both could do, it was run.

They seperated hands and broke into a sprint, darting away from the now rapidly approaching presence of Fabian.

Meg gained an early lead, looking at the signs of the school temporarily, looking to see where they were. West campus. Perfect.

There was a scenic path which lead of of college which they could easily break off to run to the woods which surrounded the path. Hastily, she checked behind to check if Feng was still keeping up and thankfully, her friend was still in the game. Meg quickly motioned right, pointing down a cobblestone path.

"Turn right here!" Meg shouted back, skirting the corner and almost bumping into a few other classmates. Feng quickly follows suite and then meets the sight of Meg jumping a waist high metal fence, managing to go over it without much trouble. Feng looks back to the sight of Fabian and then feels something. Something dangerous.

Fabian's brutish posture, his clenched fists, narrowing eyes and flared expression was enough to scare anyone.

But it was the way he relentlessly pursued them, the way he ignored everything else to get them.

That awoke something from inside Feng which clocked her body into overdrive. She met the fence quickly and hastily vaulted over the metal, her legs flying as they landed on the other side. That sudden burst of adrenaline caused her to shift her body forward and dig her feet deeper, push herself further to pick up the speed.

She speeds ahead at an abnormal pace, her shoes scraping up the mud behind her as she overtook Meg, the athlete becoming surprised at the speed her friend was going. The ginger looked back at their aggressor, only to see him trip over the fence and land face first into the ground below. She snorted to herself at the misfortunate their friend before turning back to keep running with Feng.

The two ran for a couple of minutes more deeper into the woods, just to be sure they had lost Fabian. And sure enough, he didn't find them.

The two then began to walk back, laughing and talking about what had just happened with one another and even though being trapped in that place...in the fog...she was happy to have met such great people. Suddenly, Meg's heart lurches as she looked at her watch which read 4:47

Not good; she was supposed to be at their apartment at 5 o'clock to help Dwight set up for the party tonight. It was a good fifteen minute walk away but if she wanted to make it on time, she would have to run there. She turned to Feng, already pacing on her feet.

"Listen - this has been nice but - I forgot I have to be somewhere. I need to help Dwight out with the party" she hastily explains, somewhat sadly. Feng smiles and shakes her head.

"It's all cool, seriously. Thanks for helping me out with that though" the young woman said, smiling and Meg returned the pleasure.

"It's what friends are for, right?" the athlete commented before turning to run down the path returning back to the town. She looked over her shoulder one final time.

"Hey! You are coming to the party right?" Meg asked and Feng chuckled and nodded her head.

"Of course. Now go! Run!" she beckoned the speed out of Meg and soon enough the athlete took off, disappearing round a corner in the pathway.

Feng continued on her own, taking in the sights of the afternoon wildlife and plant life. She was glad to be out of the city, away from the noise, the traffic, the exhaust smoke. This was a lot calmer. It wasn't exactly balanced weather but the heat in Boulder was more than welcome.

Feng suddenly shivered.

Well - she could definitely do with some of that aforementioned heat now.

She hugged herself a moment and noticed that she was coming across the thickest part of the woods, yet it didn't worry her; the area just before the clearing was always clogged with plantlife. The sunlight slowly became thinner and thinner as she walked on and she saw the familiar sign of '_TO TOWN'_ scratched into a wooden sign posted beside the path along with an arrow pointing ahead.

She passed the sign, deciding to search around in her bag to pull out her coat; she was beginning to get cold because of the lack of sunlight. She pulled the purple material over her and some of the wind was already blocked, feeling better already.

She came to a corner of the path and knew it was all that was left before exiting the forest and out to the town. She turned the corner, however, and saw something very different. The path continued on for longer with no clearing. She cocked her head for a moment before admitting to herself that she probably just misinterpreted the path and it was in fact a little while longer. So she carried on walking, not caring much about the darkening sunlight or the fact that the trees seemed to bunch together more and more. Or the fact that all the birds had stopped singing now for an unknown reason.

Eventually, she came across another sign, but this one was facing away from her. She smiled with a hint of curiosity; she had never seen this sign before. She skipped up to it and took a look at what the sign had written on it.

'_TO TOWN', along with an arrow pointing ahead. _

Feng froze.

That looked to be exactly like the other sign that had been behind her just a couple of moments. But she knew for certain that there was only ever one of the signs. She turned her head to where she came and now, something was wrong.

Instead of a corner was a long and narrow path, with no natural light at the end of it, as if she was instead looking at a tunnel.

She only started to worry when the wind stopped blowing. She began to hastily walk the other way, now looking behind her shoulder every few seconds, feeling the urge to check if something or someone was there. She began to pack up her bag again, shoving her work notes, pencils, pens and books into the bag. And she was just about to throw her diary in before she felt something, _something _breath in her ear. She jerked forwards, yelping at the experience and dropping her diary on the floor in the process. Though when she turned, there wasn't anything there.

But the hairs at the back of her neck began to stand when she looked further into the pathway, her eyes searching for a threat, an intruding, anything that could explain this.

But she had that double-edged feeling of premonition which is what caused her to turn and run.

She dug her heels into the floor, sprinting forward at the fastest pace she could go whilst fastening her bag back onto her back. She couldn't be bothered about her diary, she just needed to run. But the tunnel seemed to just come closer and closer towards her, the trees and branches around her beginning to close in and smother her, cutting off the light, cutting off life.

The more she ran, the slower she felt as if she wasn't moving anywhere, like a stereotypical nightmare. Although this nightmare was real.

Until finally, she began to get smaller, began to see less and less of the plantlife above her and more of the mud below her. She couldn't see the reason first before she looked down to see a delirious sight.

The earth below her was beginning to warp inwards as if she was putting pressure on a balloon. And her feet - her feet were sinking into the soil as if the ground was slowly consuming her. She desperately tried to hoist her feet out put no matter how hard she pulled, the world seemed to grip tighter, pull stronger.

Now, she was truly sinking and she felt her heart furiously beating in her chest. She cried out, screaming for help, yelling to gain the attention of someone, _anyone_ who might be out there to help her or to at least realise her situation.

But it was no use.

The world began to close around her, the light cutting off, the sound cutting out. The only sound being the spine chilling roar of something in the dirt around her. The ground closed above Feng Ming, solidifying and sealing the young woman in the dark.

And then everything was quiet again as the birds began to sing again and the world carried on as if nothing had happened.


End file.
